Zutara WeekMonth
by BendyPen
Summary: Contents include: Crazy Adventures, Weird plots, blushes, awkward conversations and more blushing. Turns out there's a good dose of angst as well, keep a hanky at hand!
1. Speak

Zutara Week Prompt: Speak

"Speaked"

"Spoke"

"Speaked!"

"Spoke!" Zuko slammed the papers on his mahogany desk and stood up from his seat, which looked like a power drain for a sleep-deprived man.

"I'm telling you, 'speaked' isn't grammatically correct! You can't just add 'ed' to every word and think that'll make it past tense!" he strained to keep his voice at a cool, calm and collected level, as a Fire Lord should sound, but the way he was blowing smoke out of his nose gave his frustration away instantly to Katara. But she wouldn't back down, despite a small doubt that she _just might_ be wrong. Zuko's temper was rubbing of on her at this point.

"Well, in Water Tribe's native writing, that's how it is!" Katara adamantly placed her hands on her hips as she and Zuko had a stare-down.

"This is _Fire Nation_ script, so it doesn't count!" he stretched the word 'Fire Nation' like a rubber noodle. That seems to have set her off. She slapped Zuko from across the desk, making the stacked papers fly.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me like I'm a baby!"

His eyes widened in shock as he felt the red mark of a Katara's hand on is cheek. His shock turned into rage, making his fists spurt flames.

"What in Agni was that for? If anybody were talking like a baby here, it would be you! You don't know nearly as much of my language as I do!"

"But you're the one who taught me, so if I got, it's your fault!"

"Is not! You must've remembered wrong. Stop trying to defend yourself, you clearly are inexperienced in Fire Nation script!" Zuko sighed as he swept his back off his forehead.

Katara sniffed haughtily as she silently accepted defeat. Slumping on the chair she had risen from in the heat of the argument, she bended the sweat off her face.

"Why is it so hot in here?" She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. Another part of her also pushed her to change the subject, she hated being wrong.

"Did you burn something Zuko? I'm smelling smoke"

His eyes widened as he stopped gripping the edge of the desk and silently cursed. There was a vivid black hand-shaped scorch etched into the elegantly carved side of the polished wood. Katara smirked.

"The carpenter who made that desk won't be happy that his hard work was put to waste on a burn".

"I can get a new desk", he grumbled as re-ordered the papers that were flung off the table when Katara had reached over the desk to slap him. He felt the red mark where Katara's hands had met his face and noticed it still stung.

"That would be a waste, it's such a nice desk" she replied. Their tempers had cooled by now and exhaustion had taken its place. She sipped her tea and helped Zuko re-organise the desk.

"Do slaps from a water bender always hurt this much?" He half-joked. She glanced at his face and analysed it for the first time since they had gone without sleep to finish the enduring paper work. He looked paler than usual and his eyes looked worn and screamed, 'I NEED SLEEP!'.

A clack on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Lady Katara, Fire Lord Zuko, I have herbal tea", a shy servant hesitantly peered into the room with a tray holding two steaming cups of liquid goodness.

"We didn't ask for tea" the servant shied away from Zuko's gaze.

"We didn't, but we'll take it, thank you!" Katara glared at Zuko as she accepted the tray and shoved a cup in Zuko's hands. Turning down rejuvenating tea seemed silly, and besides, she liked tea. He looked at it warily and asked the servant who had requested her to bring it. General Iroh, the servant replied, ever since he left on his trip to the Earth Kingdom, he ordered the servant to prepare the tea when they spend over-hours in Zuko's office.

"Say thank you to this kind servant for bringing us tea, Zuko" she poked him.

He grumpily muttered a thank you and dismissed the servant.

"Typical Uncle" he rolled his eyes and sipped moodily. Katara grinned at his mood. She liked to call this his 'emo' stage; a nickname copied from Sokka. He enjoys riling him up and stifled a laugh recalling her brother poking Zuko with a stick at the Western Air Temple when he had lost his bending. Zuko raised an eyebrow at her, curious why she was smiling at her tea.

"You need to get some rest." Katara reminded herself of his eyebags.

"I'm fine"

"Those eyebags and pale skin are telling me a different story. You're getting some rest and if you resist, I'll force you to bed" She realised she made a mistake once she saw Zuko blush.

"Not in _that way!_ I m-mean I'll make you get some rest in bed!" she spluttered. She was pretty sure that she was blushing as well now. Thanks a lot, Zuko.

"Um, right. Well I guess I better go before you bend me out" he had given up trying to defy her orders and scuffled around the carved chairs and stacks of paper strewn on the floor to the door.

"I still think 'speaked' is the right word", she felt like borrowing Sokka's smarminess today and decided to try to tick him off. Maybe he might burn something again, she thought with a smirk. Zuko made the loudest face slap before slamming the door to his room.

…..

This was hastily slapped together for Day two of Zutara week. Not great, but I'm desperate to upload and felt guilty skipping day one. The more responsible side of my brain says I should be placing my assignments over this, but I just don't give two shits anymore about school so eh._.


	2. Shattered

Zutara Week- Shattered

The diamond-sharp points of the ice faced the terrified man. Death is plastered all over his body, trembling like a baby bird. Zuko realised, his whole life being a victim to karma; killing a waterbender's mother, only for her daughter to come right back at him. If the situation wasn't so grim, he would've had a laugh about it with Sokka. The man peaks out of his arms, shielding his face, to find Katara's icicles inches away from his face, poised to attack.

_That's it! _He thought. _She's going to avenge her mother and rip this man's rotten soul out of his body just as he ripped Katara's mother away from her life!_ But her eyes betrayed her. It was a pool of emotions: anger, bitterness, regret, pain and a monstrous fire so much like a Fire Bender's, draining away. In its place is now a stagnant sea of sadness, so easy to drown in. Zuko unclenched fists he never knew were balled up.

_She isn't going to do it._

She collapsed unto the mud, followed by the liquid weapons, shattering just like her heart. He understood what she felt, two conscious beings in her herself battling with their emotions. The now filthy man saw her change and took the opportunity to bargain for his life, with another one's life.

"I did a bad thing! I know I did, and you deserve revenge, so why don't you take _my _mother? That would be fair!" The man cried out. His voice had as much genuineness as Azula telling him his father loved him. _That sick man even attempted to smile! How dare he try to comfort her by letting her slay his mother? He's just trying to save his own skin, that sick bastard! He feels no regret, only the will to live another day_! He fumed silently. But a small thought lingered at the back of his mind, _but you wouldn't kill him either, would you?_

He shoved it back as he listened to Katara repeat the thoughts in his head aloud.

"I always wondered what kind of person would do such a thing, but now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty." The man, Yon Rha (he hated saying that, he doesn't deserve the honour to have a name, a symbol of humanity, which this man had very little of) clasped his hands together and grovelled at her feet.

"Please, spare me!" He looked more pathetic by the minute, his wrinkled eyes shedding crocodile tears. But Zuko's feet were rooted to the spot.

_Don't intervene._

This Katara's choice, a battle of morale she has to face alone.

"But as much as I hate you…" He could hear the man's heart beat wildly.

"I just can't do it." She had chosen. Mercy had won.

_Aang was right, but wrong at the same time. Katara's enduring hate for this man would never allow her to leave this man alone, but her mercy would prevail. She had to see how pathetic and weak this man really was for her to understand how meaningless this hatred was… just like how Zuko needed to see how the Earth Kingdom's villages were suffering before he could believe how much of a tyrant his own father was._

So ,when he felt a part of Katara's heart break, shatter, he knew exactly what was happening.

But as her anger against this man shattered, a new friendship was being knitted together, one that would save her life and lead to so much more.

…

WOO! I tried my VERY best to write as angsty as I could, without busting out complicated words! I'm still shying away from smut, because I'm too soft for that, so sorry if you don't like my clean Zutara, I won't be writing smut until I put my big girl pants on, which I won't be putting on until I feel ready.

I don't feel ready.


	3. Mentor

Zutara Week- Mentor

They were lounging by the turtle-duck pond, feeding its inhabitants bread and sharing a bonding silence. Nothing would interrupt them apart from occasional quacks and plops of the bread being pecked away at by the animals and the fact that Azula fired most of the servants. Zuko had took the opportunity to visit his childhood garden and Katara was to accompany him as his healer, adding that she was thrilled at the idea of feeding adorable, fluffy animals and other reasons she kept pushing back down. Those particular reasons kept popping back up, agitating her. Time to break the silence, before he hears her internal groaning.

"Hey Zuko?" Katara paused throwing bread into the pond. The baby turtle-ducks chirped in annoyance.

"Yes?"

"You never said who was your mentor in fire bending before." She knew Zuko knew where she got most of her moves from, Grandpa Pakku. He released a sigh that he seemed to have held his breath.

"Uncle Iroh was the best mentor I had, that I consider him a father to me. He also saved my life a lot of times, even when I was being a huge jerk towards him." Regret and a hint of awe emanated from Zuko's voice. He seemed to be holding this regret for a while now.

"C'mon Zuko, you know he forgives you. You paid him back by going against your father and joining us!" If Katara was his uncle, she would definitely forgive him.

"Yeh, I know. Sometimes I just still feel guilty about, you know, doing all those things to him. Even though I didn't actually do it, I just stood back and watched. It's just as bad."

"In the end you did the right thing, and that's what matters. Hey, look at me." Zuko tilted his head to his right, trying not the disturb his lightening wound. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved to sit crossed legged in front of him. She wants to see his eyes read the care she has in her own.

"I can see that you want to pay him back for every kind thing he did to you, but your uncle isn't like your father, he'll love you no matter what you say or do. This bond you have between him isn't a 'I'll do to you what you do to me' thing, he loves you just because he does." Katara swore she saw his eyes flick around, as if he recalled a flashback. He bowed his head slightly, so that she could still see his eyes.

"I know, and I try, but…" He sighed again and pushed his hair back. She placed her hands back on her lap while Zuko tossed the bread around the grass.

"Even if you think you still owe your uncle, just remember you sacrificed your life to save mine. It was a selfless act, he was really proud of you. Even my dad trusts you with me just as much as he trusts Sokka, and that's a big thing coming from him."

"Really? He actually thinks that?" His eyes lit up like a firefly, making him look so much younger.

"Yeh, he told me you are a good guy at heart, but you just have some rough edges." She didn't tell him that her father said that Zuko made a great dad, the thought of what he implied made her blush. Nope, this is definitely to be kept a secret. Zuko saw her cheeks turn bright red, he raised his eyebrow.

"Well, I think we should go back to the bed-NO, not like that, I mean so I can heal you some more! What do you think Zuko? Yep, let's do that!" She stuttered as the thoughts she tried to hold back came crashing all over her. Damn these stupid stomach butterflies!

…..

Juggling Zutara art and writing is annoyingly hard, so bear with the late updates. Huh, I seem to be late in a lot of things now. This prompt also was feathered very little because I didn't plan this one that well.


	4. Youth

Zutara Week- Youth

"Youth these days, they don't even know love when they see it", the water bending master grumbled as he sipped his tea. Iroh and Pakku were spying on Zuko and Katara through a window, which was cleverly concealed by a leafy tree and the fact that they had the advantage of elevation.

"They are too young to understand what they are feeling, Pakku. Give it time, they will soon confess their feelings and marry!" Iroh sighed dreamingly.

"Confess their feelings and marry? Ridiculous! Can you see the tension between them? It's made of bricks!" Pakku half yelled half whispered while gesturing at the pair sitting by the pond and talking about who-knows-what. Katara then scotched to sit in front of Zuko and placed a hand over his shoulder.

"Is this the moment?" Iroh gasped. He leaned closer to the window sill in anticipation for a steamy kiss.

Zuko leaned back on the tree and Katara placed her hands back on her lap, much to the disappointment of Iroh. He slouched back on a nearby chair, looking deflated.

"That was the twelfth time they had come this close and didn't kiss!" he moaned.

"At this rate, they will never marry. Why not make a forced marriage? They love each other anyway" Pakku glanced back at the pair, they were having a heart-to-heart on something that made them blush, but neither had they moved closer. He was sure that Zuko even bowed his head; yes, he is really an idiot.

"No, no, no! They must realise their feelings for each other themselves before they marry! Love is not to be rushed!" Pakku grunted his disagreement, but privately he hadn't the heart to impose a marriage upon the lovers either.

"Well, we have to do something soon, they are ripe for marriage for crying out loud, I can't stand watching them beating around the snow!" Suddenly, Iroh's eyes lit up like a lantern. Pakku raised his eyebrow, he had the 'I had discovered some amazing plan' look on his face.

"That's it! I have an excellent idea! No one said anything about speeding up the love process, did they? I am a fool for not having thought of this before!"

"Oh, just spit it out, Iroh!" He had better talk, before Pakku would splash him in the face with this steaming hot tea.

"We add a tiny portion of rum to their tea! It's genius!"

"WHAT?" Pakku bended out a tea flavoured ice dagger out of his cup, ready to knock the mad old man out. He had a sneaking suspicion that Iroh was drunk, stupidly drunk.

"So, you disagree?" Iroh narrowed his eyes.

"You're crazy" Pakku growled back.

"Well, then may the best bender win!" Iroh spurted a volley of flames from his fist and dashed out the room, dazing Pakku before he sprinted after him.

….

Abrupt ending, but I'm already late for the next prompt! I always wanted to write more about Pakku and Iroh, they would make a great bending duo.


	5. Found

Zutara Week- Found

**AN: **This is an AU where Zuko and Katara were raised together in the Fire nation, but she still wears her necklace.

…..

Ten-year-old Zuko wandered aimlessly through the palace garden, kicking flowers and tossing stones in the turtle-duck pond as he stumbled upon them. _Stupid Azula and her stupid bending and her stupid cuteness that tricks everyone! _He fumed inside his mind because he dares not say it out loud; he was caught once, and she burned his pants right off. He scanned the surrounding area for any prying eyes before continuing his rant.

"Haha! I beat you again Zuzu, and I'm older than you! Haha!" he imitates his sister's voice surprisingly well and begins to pluck petals off a red flower rimed with gold and a black centre that reminded him of Azula.

"Well guess what Azula? Soon I'll be bigger and stronger than you and beat you in a bending match! Then Katara won't have to be pushed around by you again!"

He kicked the flower beds with more force, the rim of his eyes turning red with the pollen attacking his eyes.

"Don't forget I'll be Fire Lord soon and-"A gorgeous blue flower stood out from the rest, stopping his foot from swinging mid-air. The petals had an illusion of a swirling pool of water and the centre held a rich brown and white mix of colours. He couldn't hurt it, this one reminded him so much of Katara. He dropped the torn Azula-flower in exchange for the Katara-flower, stroking the underside of the petals as if it were a fragile turtle-duck. _She would love this! _A blush blossomed on his cheek as he imagined her reaction, what would he say when she asked where he found it? He wasn't one to observe flowers, this is so _girly!_

Zuko sighed. Against his violently protesting masculinity, he trudged forward. He'll just shove the flower towards her and walk away, with as much dignity as he can muster.

She was sitting on the other side of the courtyard, squatting on the dirt and grovelling around it like a peasant, ignorant to the world around her, to Zuko's relief. On closer inspection, he realised she was planting seeds with her bare hands and watering the soil with a jug equally as dirt-ridden as her hands. If he was going to turn back, now would be the perfect opportunity, but his legs kept shuffling forward until he was standing by her side, two metres separating them from contact. There was no backing out of it now, she's about to reach for the jug, she's looking up…

"I found this flower!"

She fell back in surprise; this is a bad start.

Zuko shoved the flower in her direction and looked away, trying desperately to hide his reddening cheeks. Katara's mouth still hung out in surprise for a few more painfully awkward seconds.

"Well, are you going to take it or what?" _Why did you snap at her, idiot?_

"I mean, uh, you can take it if you want or not..."

"You don't normally give me flowers", she was _teasing_ him now!

"It's pretty" He reassures himself he's not going to take the bait. He's going to give it to her and leave without making a clown of himself, full stop.

"All the flowers here are pretty"

"I just think this one is prettier" He was smug that he managed to evade the question, to Katara's dismay.

"You said that all flowers look the same to you before!" She was smirking like a monkey now.

"THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE YOU AND IT'S PRETTY LIKE YOU! PLEASE JUST TAKE IT!" _Damnit. _

"That's, uh, really sweet of you!" She stuttered as she grabbed the flower and inspected it. Now both of them were blushing, just great. _She expecting a different answer, then._ She broke the silence and began to dig another hole and bury the flower inside it, shocking Zuko.

_Was she doing this on purpose? Does she hate me?_

"I think this one is pretty too. I'm burying it so more flowers will grow, silly. This garden needs more blue flowers here anyway."

"Yeh, I like blue"

….

I might've been inspired just a LIL BIT by Boogum's Sun And Moon fanfic…just a teeny bit…

But srlsy. Go check her out, her Zutara is dope.


	6. Easier

Zutara Week- Easier

Hate is easier,

Love is stronger,

…

Hands that lingered longer when she passed her bowl to him; tingling stars scattered across their skin. No, not yet. They do not know about the stars running along their skin, or that, maybe, they choose the ignore them.

He snatched her away the from the tumbling stones, making himself a human shield for her sake. _Protect the water bender, her life is more valuable than mine. _He echoed this throughout his mind as he fought off his sister, making a path for his friends to travel to safety in. She pushed the thought of thanking him back, the most she could do to maintain the hate she once had towards him. She pushed many thoughts of him back, _I hope he makes it back safely, he shouldn't be fighting out there alone, if he doesn't come back, we lose our only fire bending teacher, our only hope for the world. _She shouldn't miss him, so when she reaches out to catch him from the fall, she assumes its only because it was an instinct.

"Then maybe you could bring back my mother!" Her words filled his mind with plans, risky, dangerous plans, but he knew it would be worth to see her satisfaction. Facing the thorn in her heart and pulling it out, he would hope to gain her trust and forgiveness. But hope is a fickle thing, so he expected nothing in return. On the pier, hearts went ablaze, a new friendship kindled as fire and water embraced. It was blatant look of surprise on his face before a smile played on his lips, reflecting the water bender's. His soul felt the warmth of acceptance and alieness of water's touch. And so, a new page was turned, a new start for flame and frost to join forces to fight for the Avatar on the horizon of ocean and sun.

It started with subtle gestures; smiles they reserved for each other; gentle teasing, smug grins and shoulder nudges knitted their bond even closer over time.

A heart, torn apart. Lightening searing through the chamber encasing the soul, the soul of fire. A sacrifice of love flame steered death to his own door, the life of frost stood horrified. _I will be the ransom for your soul, take me instead! _He allowed the claws of the blue light to ravage the blaze of life, slipping, slipping and falling…

_NO!_

Water beat the sapphire monster away, grasping for the flame, the yellow light flickering pityingly at the edge of death's jaws. Hands linked; she pulled his soul back to the safety of consciousness. He was still. Alive.

"Thankyou", a quiet rasp that only your heart would understand the depth of. She shook her head, "I'm the one who should be thanking you!"

With fire and water; steam formed, blinding the enemy's eyes, defeat promptly followed.

Peace. The world sighed at the flame of war extinguishing.

Earth, Air, Water, Fire had bonded, nothing an obstacle too high to leap over.

He winced as he struggled to pull his robes over his arm, the lightening scar cramping his muscles. "You need a little help with that?" Destiny entered through the door.

She stood on the balcony, breathing in the afternoon air, the sun beaming at her. Destiny stood beside her.

Fire and frost embraced, but no, not each other, they embraced destiny. Love had come too slow.

…

Hate is easier,

Love is stronger,

But destiny always triumphs.

…

ACK! I'm sorry I kept you all waiting, but I had a horrendous writer's block and guess how many stories I had scrapped? FIVE. I really appreciate all the readers who reviewed, followed, favourited, or just enjoyed my stories! Even if I don't respond to your reviews, I still read all of em' and appreciate that you guys like my fics! I'm also aching for any constructive criticism, I won't be offended if you point out any mistake I written, of whatever kind. And yes, I know that this has big dose of metaphors and is probs out of order, but I'm too lazy to fix it. I haven't watched the show from start to finish in a year and I don't want to pay to watch it, I'm young and penniless. Rant over.


	7. Tea

Zutara month- Tea

The dim flames flickering toned the mostly maroon room in a warm hue. Sloshing water could be heard as Katara bended the herbal tea, blending the strong scent into the tea and the air. Once satisfied with the density of it, she gently shook a sleeping Zuko awake, the flames flickering brightly before settling down.

"Oh hi Katara- is that one of Uncles tea blends again?" He lightly scowled at the green liquid.

"Yes, Now drink it all or I'll tell Uncle and you'll break his heart"

"Not like I haven't done that before" He muttered under his breath, before sipping the tea.

"I heard that Zuko." She stopped fiddling with the tea pot. "You know he forgave you right?"

"Yes, I know, it's just- wait, how do you know?" He cast her a suspicious glance from his cup, which would have been more intimidating if he wasn't injured, lying in bed with Katara mothering him. She had the good grace to blush, before quickly sipping from her non- herbal cup, hiding behind the steam. She set the cup down after very long, loud sips.

"Well, uh, its instinct, you know? One look from you and Uncles face told me everything," she silently wished that he would tell her what really happened in the tent, not that she thought she was being a tad too _prying,_ pfft, it was only friendly concern at most.

"Was it really that obvious I was crying?" Zuko was now the one blushing, with Katara now looking too intrigued for his liking.

"You cried- well yes, I knew, but when did it happen?" Zuko once again cast her a suspicious glance. She usually didn't stutter this much in a normal sentence, or was it just him being paranoid?

"Katara- do you actually know what happened?"

"Are you questioning my water-bending instinct!" Well, there was no going back now. She gave Zuko the most 'how-dare-you-think-i-was-lying!' look she could muster. A silent bell of victory rang in her ears as Zuko's face shifted into apologetic, eyes shifting worriedly at the steaming pot of tea, afraid it would explode at her anger.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I guess I was just paranoid then. I might as well tell you since you know part of it anyway," he leaned back on the bed head, hands clutching his bandaged abdomen. She tutted, adjusting the white cloth followed by his muttered thanks.

"I went in and found Uncle sleeping. I was almost thinking of going back, scared of what he would say when he woke up. He then, just looked at me, and turned back. I could see his face. I was so sure he hated me. I felt so sorry for what I did, but had no way of making it up to him," Zuko chuckled darkly shaking his head.

"So I just said what had been in my head since Ba Sing Se. I was sorry. I had no way of recompensating -" A smile cracked from his face, making him look so much younger than Katara made him out to be.

"Then he hugged me. I was so shocked because I thought he would be furious with me, but turns out he was just sad I lost my way. Oh- I think I started crying when I said my apology. And that's it"

"You aren't a very good story teller" Katara had a slight pout as Zuko handed the cup back.

"That's all you have to say?"

"Well what do you want me to say?" She raised her eyebrow, making him feel sheepish.

"I don't know, something inspirational."

"I don't always have to say something inspirational! Its like that play, they're brainwashing you!" Zuko laughed, before clutching his stomach, grunting.

"Idiot! You aren't supposed to laugh, the muscles in you stomach can spasm and I'll have to fix everything again!" She gently shoved him back unto the bed, beginning to undo his wrappings.

"You sounded like Sokka just then, I couldn't hel-" A yawn escaped his mouth, cutting him midsentence. Katara mentally smacked herself. He was tired this. Whole. Time.

"You're tired." She cast him a glare.

"I'm fine, i-"

"You're blinking more than usual. That's a sign of fatigue, as well as that yawn you did. Jerk. Go to sleep." She whisked the tray away and doused all the lights. She paused at the door, glancing behind her shoulder.

"And don't try to sneak out, or I'll get Toph to kick your butt and get you back in bed. Understood?" She heard a sigh and a shift of blankets.

"Yes, _mom"_ As she slammed the door, she could _feel_ his smirk niggling at her mind.

…

AN: meaningless fluff, because I have no interesting plots to whip out of my *very* useless brain.


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